In a rather unusual move, the Devendra Kulla Vellalar community in Tamil Nadu is seeking exclusion from SC status from the central government. According to reports, Puthiya Tamilagam leader K Krishnaswamy has stated that they do not want to be a part of the list of scheduled caste communities because they were facing social discrimination.
The community has reportedly stated that reservation breeds stigma and they are being looked down upon in society because of the SC status. They also added that over the years, the community has only been treated as a vote bank and they are now seeking upward social mobility and progress.
K Krishnasamy has reportedly informed that on May 6, over one lakh people from the community will gather in Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu and call for exclusion from the SC list.
On May 6th, more than 1 Lakh people from the Devendra Kula Vellalar community will come together in Virudhunagar demanding to be excluded from the Schedule caste list.
If you want to see how organically assembled people come together for a cause, join us. Rarely happens in TN pic.twitter.com/ImMilOSoMW
— Shyam Krishnasamy (@DrShyamKK) April 28, 2018
Earlier in December, members of the Puthiya Tamilagam, which is a political party representing the Devendra Kula Vellalar community had held a pride march in Delhi, demanding their exclusion from the SC list. They have also been demanding the state government in Tamil Nadu to commonly name all their seven sub-castes, Pallar, Kudumbar, Pannadi, Kaalaadi, Kadayar, Devendrakulatar and Vadhiriyaar under one caste that is the Devendra Kula Vellalar.
JD(U) national general secretary Akhilesh Katiyar and BJP leader H Raja have also supported the demand of the community in the past. BJP President Amit Shah had also backed the demand for the sub-castes to be brought under one caste tag in the past. The President of Devendra Charitable Trust M Thangaraj had stated earlier that the community should never have been included in the SC list and they had owned land in the past. Asserting that clubbing all the sub-castes under one caste would be the first goal, he had added that the community will move the central government for exclusion from the SC list even if it meant letting go of the privileges of reservation and other benefits.
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